Will Ospreay and The Real Winners and Losers from AEW Dynasty 2024 Match Card

While All Elite Wrestling has not often made April one of its defining months, the card for Dynasty looked like one of the best AEW could put together.

Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson promised an absolute dream match, and they delivered an incredible bout, driven by wild reversals, impressive athleticism and a white hot crowd.

Swerve Strickland earned his opportunity to be the very first black AEW world champion, defeating Samoa Joe in an unforgettable battle.

Young Bucks and FTR went to war once more in a ladder match that established the importance of the AEW tag team division.

Kazuchika Okada picked up his first big win on pay-per-view in a memorable clash with Pac.

Willow Nightingale picked up the most important victory of her career, winning the TBS Championship in an impressively one-sided battle with Julia Hart.

However, not everyone had as great a night at Dynasty.

Chris Jericho was nearly bullied out of the building by a loud angry crowd that was not happy to see Hook lose.

Thunder Rosa promised she would regain her AEW Women's Championship, but underhanded tactics allowed Toni Storm to defeat her once again.

The following are the clearest winners and losers from Dynasty.

The Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri was rocking all night for Dynasty. Even on a night filled with great action that could have easily worn out a typical wrestling crowd, this crowd kept loud for each match.

This was especially true for the final three matches. AEW back-loaded this card with the biggest matches of the night, and nothing could stop this crowd cheering for it all.

The chants for Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson were some of the loudest and most consistent of any AEW match ever.

One thing that AEW has always leaned into is the love of the fans. Loud crowds make the shows feel special, and Dynasty felt special because of these fans.

St. Louis has to have earned plenty more big AEW shows in the future.

Shane Taylor Promotions has become a consistent fixture on AEW television in the last couple months, However, that has not led to wins.

In a company that has declared that wins and losses matter including bringing back the AEW rankings, STP is nowhere near any title picture in 2024.

It is hard to pick up a win over Orange Cassidy and Katsuyori Shibata, both top performers for the company, but Taylor and Lee Moriarty really needed it.

At this point, it is hard to take this heel stable seriously. Even with Anthony Ogogo recently joining the crew, that will not change any time soon.

After struggling for the past couple years to sustain two trios divisions, the AEW Trios Championships and Ring of Honor Six-Men Tag Team Championships have been unified by Bullet Club Gold.

Jay White and The Gunns have looked unstoppable as a unit, and this win over the longest reigning trios champions in AEW's history makes them the top trio in wrestling.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn had lost some steam as champions after holding the titles over 200 days, but there is no doubt that they were still massively over with the fans, especially in St. Louis.

The Bullet Club Gold win matters not just for the gold captured but also renewing AEW's focus on the trios division, hopefully getting ROH and AEW on track together.

While some may still be waiting for The Switchblade to win singles gold, he is crafting a unique legacy that should give him lasting credibility when he goes after the world title again.

Kazuchika Okada and Pac delivered one of the absolute greatest AEW PPV openers of all time to start Dynasty, setting a standard that would be tough to match.

AEW has hyped The Rainmaker as one of the all-time greats, and it was in his first PPV match where he showed why the company has committed to his talent.

The crowd was behind him until he turned their loud cheers into vociferous boos, willing the crowd to root for his ornery challenger.

Pac played his part beautifully, selling Okada as a truly dangerous striker. In many ways, it was him that emerged as the star that deserved "best in the world" consideration.

While Okada walked out the victor, the crowd showed love to Pac, who should be featured heavily on AEW television whenever he is available.

Malakai Black has had an up-and-down run in AEW, but at his best, he has found success in trios action. That was true once again when House of Black took down Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe and Eddie Kingston.

While Brody King and Buddy Matthews looked good, Black was the clear star for House of Black, teasing consistently that he was a threat to The Rated-R Superstar.

He proved that by pinning Copeland in the center of the ring, likely setting him up for a singles match for the TNT Championship.

If Black does win over Copeland, it could finally establish Black as a dominant heel threat in AEW for the first time since his feud with Cody Rhodes.

On an AEW roster loaded with talent, this could be the final chance for Black to prove himself one of the company's top stars. He is starting strong.

Willow Nightingale has risen from unknown to top babyface in the women's division over the past two years in AEW. She has been rewarded for her great work with her first AEW title victory, capturing the TBS Championship.

While she may not have a long title reign, ready to face Mercedes Moné at Double or Nothing, she is just the fourth woman to hold the TBS Championship in AEW history.

That cannot be taken away from her, no matter what happens next.

AEW is attempting to build the foundation of the women's division up to match the quality of talent on the roster. It is a testament to Willow's talent that she is the first AEW woman to be crowned in 2024.

As far as Willow's opponent and the former champion, Julia Hart was a strong fighting champion over her breakout TBS Championship run, and hopefully she will only continue to rise up the ranks in AEW.

"Go home, Jericho."

"Fozzy sucks."

"Please retire."

The crowd was completely against Chris Jericho in a match where he walked out through the babyface tunnel for his entrance.

Much of this is down to The Learning Tree losing the crowd over the past few months. His matches have consistently under-delivered while no one is investing in the stories.

Jericho has always been good at reinventing himself when his acts grow stale, but nothing is working these days. He needs to take a long break from television to get the crowd back.

That is not happening after winning the FTW Championship.

2024 has been an interesting year for Hook. The Handsome Devil went from the best match of his career against Samoa Joe to his worst against Jericho.

This loss won't hurt him too badly, but more association with The Learning Tree could stunt his growth.

According to Michael Shalik of SEScoops, Hook could be exploring free agency this year when his AEW contract expires, and stories like this may make him consider leaving.

From a wrestling perspective, there is no doubt that Thunder Rosa brought her A-game at Dynasty. She was working overtime to deliver one of the best matches of her career.

Even with the usual "Timeless" Toni Storm tactics, Rosa had the crowd completely behind her as challenger.

However, this was Rosa's one shot at regaining the AEW Women's Championship. She delivered her top performance and still lost.

In a growing competitive women's division, Rosa may have trouble finding her spot.

Hopefully, her effort will keep her in the conversation, perhaps leaning into her growing rivalry with Deonna Purrazzo or finding an opportunity later in the year to feud with Mercedes Moné.

Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson promised the impossible. They called their shot to deliver the greatest match of all time, and while the end result is subjective, they absolutely did everything in their power to deliver.

No one will forget the battle of Ospreay and Danielson, who never slowed down in a match that was equal parts insane action and physicality.

It is arguably the front-runner for match of the year and will stand as one of the most defining matches in AEW history.

Both delivered, but this was Ospreay's night. The crowd chanted for The American Dragon on occasion but was absolutely behind The Aerial Assassin.

In his short time officially signed with AEW, Ospreay has promised a consistent level of excellence that no one else can match.

If anyone could keep up, it is Danielson, but he is winding down his career. By giving The Aerial Assassin this definitive win, he has passed the torch to the next generation's greatest wrestler.

While Swerve Strickland may have been crowned the world champion of AEW at Dynasty, it may be Ospreay that walked out the hottest babyface in the company.

Young Bucks vs. FTR has always been a battle to define tag team wrestling. Even with the most controversial build yet for the fourth match between these teams, this match ultimately delivered as a statement on the greatness of tag team wrestling.

Emulating the legendary ladder battles of Edge & Christian, The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz, Matthew Jackson, Nicholas Jackson, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler went out to make a statement.

It was bloody, brutal, intense and so dangerous that the crowd was chanting for them to "please be careful" down the stretch.

The Young Bucks won but only with the unfair help of a returning "Scapegoat" Jack Perry. This will likely set up another rematch down the line.

Regardless of what happens in that next battle, Young Bucks and FTR delivered a tag team ladder classic that somehow stood up right next to Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson.

The promise of Dynasty was that Swerve Strickland would finally get his fair shot to become the AEW world champion. Luckily, he delivered in the moment.

The Mogul was beat down by a cocky, dominant Samoa Joe, who wanted to make sure that Swerve was completely out of his way after Dynasty.

Luckily, in the end, Swerve's will overrode the pain and pushed him to the moment he had earned over the past year.

While Joe vs. Swerve was never going to be one of the all-time great wrestling classics that preceded it, the two men leaned into their main event spotlight for a story-driven spectacle.

The hero prevailed against the ultimate monster, and he became AEW's first black world champion.

The crowd was absolutely electric for the ending, happy for a veteran that had worked his way all the way to the top of AEW's main event scene.